1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote vehicle identification and disabling system and more particularly pertains to remotely identifying and disabling a moving vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of remotely operated vehicle disabling systems of various designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, remotely operated vehicle disabling systems previously devised and utilized for the purpose of disabling a vehicle from a remote location are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,805 to Gabbard discloses a remotely operable vehicle identification and disabling system. The disclosure teaches the use of a vehicle mounted and a hand held transmitter to disable and identify a subject vehicle. The disclosure also teaches the method of sending a query message prior to disabling the subject vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,244 to Joao et al. discloses a remote-controlled vehicle anti-theft system. The disclosure teaches the use of a remote transmitting unit for sending a signal to a subject vehicle and activating a disabling system. The disabling system controls the operation of the vehicle""s fuel pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,528 to Buck discloses an apparatus for remote termination of a motor vehicle. The disclosure teaches the use of a transmitter for sending a signal to a vehicle mounted receiver for controlling the fuel supply to the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,730 to De.Grinis et al. discloses a vehicle anti-theft system. The disclosure teaches the use of a hand-held transmitter for sending a signal to a vehicle mounted receiver that will control the fuel supply to the engine.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,075 to Ditson discloses a system for disabling a speeding vehicle in a safe manner. The disclosure teaches the use of a hand-held transmitter for disabling a speeding vehicle.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a remote vehicle identification and disabling system that allows remote identifying and disabling of a moving vehicle through simple and effective components. The 6,124,805 patent makes no provisions for the subject vehicle to respond to the query message faster according to the strength of the query message to prevent the accidental disabling of vehicles in the vicinity of the disabling signal. Furthermore, there is not teaching of connecting a vehicle mounted transmission unit to an onboard law-enforcement computer system. The 5,513,244 patent does not teach the use of a hand-held transmitting unit to activate the disabling system and the use of fuel supply valve to limit the amount of fuel the engine receives to slow the vehicle down in a safe manner. Furthermore, there is no teaching for sending a query message to the subject vehicle prior to disabling it and connecting the transmission unit to an onboard law-enforcement computer system. The 4,660,528 patent does not teach the use of a hand-held transmitting unit to activate the fuel supply disabling system. Furthermore there is no teaching for sending a query message to the subject vehicle prior to disabling it and connecting the transmission unit to an onboard law-enforcement computer system. The 5,453,730 patent makes no provisions of sending a query message to the subject vehicle prior to disabling it and connecting the transmission unit to an onboard law-enforcement computer system. Lastly, the 5,933,075 patent makes no teaching of sending a query message to the subject vehicle prior to disabling it and connecting the transmission unit to an onboard law-enforcement computer system. Furthermore, there is not teaching of the use of a fuel fail-safe valve.
In this respect, the remote vehicle identification and disabling system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of remotely identifying and disabling a moving vehicle through simple and effective components.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system which can be used for remotely identifying and disabling a moving vehicle through simple and effective components. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of remotely operated vehicle disabling systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
xe2x80x9cTo attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system having a non-civilian transceiver unit in a first vehicle, a civilian unit mounted in a second vehicle and a remote control unit. The non-civilian unit has a limited range transceiver for sending and receiving a signal at a predetermined frequency. A control unit is located in the cab of the first vehicle and is connected to the limited range transceiver for controlling the functions of the limited range transceiver. A display unit is also located in the cab and is connected to the control unit and the limited range transceiver for displaying information from the control unit and the limited range transceiver. An antenna is adaptively mounted to a forward grille of the first vehicle and is connected to the limited range transceiver. The non-civilian unit is connected to a computer for remotely connecting to a database for receiving information from the database corresponding to a signal from the non-civilian unit. The civilian transceiver unit has a directional antenna mounted in the second vehicle that extends down and toward the rear. A two channel programmable limited range transceiver is connected to the directional antenna for communicating and verifying a transmission from the programmable transceiver. The two channel programmable limited range transceiver has a primary and a secondary channel, wherein the primary channel has a higher priority over the secondary channel and is programmed to receive signals at the same frequency as the limited range transceiver of the non-civilian unit. A valve actuator is connected to the two channel programmable limited range transceiver which controls a fail-open valve. The fail-open valve is mounted in a fuel line of the second vehicle for controlling the flow of fuel to a minimum amount needed to keep an engine idling running in the second vehicle. The remote control unit is used to activate and deactivate the fail-open valve of the civilian unit. The remote control unit has a battery, a transmitter connected to the battery for transmitting a signal at a frequency corresponding to the second channel of the two channel programmable limited range transceiver of the civilian unit and a switch connected to the transmitter and the battery for activating the transmitter.xe2x80x9d
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system which has all of the advantages of the prior art remotely operated vehicle disabling systems and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system, which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system, which is of durable and reliable constructions.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such remote vehicle identification and disabling system economically available to the buying public.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a remote vehicle identification and disabling system for remotely identifying and disabling a moving vehicle through simple and effective components.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved remote vehicle identification and disabling system for identifying a vehicle and controlling a vehicle""s engine. The system has a non-civilian unit and a civilian unit. The non-civilian unit has a transceiver for sending and receiving a signal, a control and display unit connected to the transceiver for controlling and displaying information from the transceiver and an antenna mounted in a first vehicle. The civilian unit has a transceiver having at least one channel for communicating with the transceiver of the non-civilian unit, an antenna connected to the transceiver of the civilian unit and a valve mounted in a fuel line of the second vehicle and connected to the transceiver of the civilian unit for controlling fuel flow.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.